Never is a Promise
by Akinriah Tram
Summary: Ruka and Hotaru's love story written in Mikan's POV.


Disclaimer: The author claims no rights to any recognizable characters in the manga.

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**Never is a Promise  
**By: Akinriah Tram  
Beta'd: AnimeSiren

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It isn't the first time Mikan sees her.

Mikan knows she has an acute memory; so she knows she's not deluding herself into thinking that she has seen the girl before. The only problem is that she can't seem to grasp where she has seen the girl, which is very unusual because the girl's features are very distinctive.

While Mikan is a respectable five feet four, the girl's head towers over her, indicating that she is probably a good five feet eight. Soft, raven locks frame her sharp fragile face in a pixie haircut and she's as pale as the snow falling outside the compartment of the train. With unique amethyst eyes that are framed by long eyelashes (she questions if they're fake, because it's so unnatural to have eyelashes that long) and exudes a furtive, regal aura.

Mikan wonders if the girl has already been scouted by a talent agency. It doesn't take an idiot to recognize that the girl is blessed with celestial looks. What Mikan admires most is that the girl can still exude those qualities while wearing a second-hand leather jacket. Mikan herself barely manages to pull off those brand named ones that Natsume wears.

The overlapping image of the girl to another that she can't identify is starting to nag her, especially when Mikan is proud to say she has never forgotten a face before. Maybe she's passed the girl on the steet before. That can only be the explanation.

"What is it?" The velvety tone comes from between the girl's lips as she glances up from the book she's reading and catches Mikan staring at her.

Her pointed stare penetrates Mikan, causing her to shrink back into the chair. Mikan can feel her cheeks heating up.

"Well?" The girl is brusque and somewhat monotone, which shatters a quarter of Mikan's high esteem for her.

_She'll probably be more well-liked if she is pleasant and sociable_, Mikan thinks to herself. However, she is willing to try and make conversation with this girl. After all, the gods had bestowed her the gift of affability; even Natsume aversely admits that it's her most charming quality.

So Mikan smiles vibrantly and introduces herself, "My name is Mikan Sakura. I was just thinking how beautiful you look."

The girl continues to stare at her as if she had grown antlers on her head. Her eyes narrow suspiciously and then she slowly nods her head and stares down at her book.

Mikan is offended. She does not know how to react to such a discourteous gesture, even though Natsume is the epitome of rudeness. Mikan wonders how she even befriended that ass when she can't even seem to make a conversation with a girl who looks her age. But then again, she doesn't have a lot of close girl friends, so she can't really say anything.

She decides to ignore the situation all together. There is no point in mingling with someone who doesn't want to return the hospitality.

"Natsume is going to be grumpy again." She mutters bitterly at the cell phone in her hands.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Mikan diverts her eyes and finds a pair of amusing amethyst eyes focused on her.

"No, he isn't," she answers resentfully.

"Are you chasing after a guy then?"

At that question, Mikan suddenly finds the girl to be infuriating. Just before, when she was trying to make a conversation with the girl, she was looked down upon, and now, when she finally decides to mind her own business, the girl starts questioning her about her _personal_ life.

"I'm not chasing after a guy," Mikan's statement is icy cold, and the temperature in the train drops a few degrees, matching the outside winter weather. "How old do you think I look?"

"I'm guessing you're an undergraduate," The girl replies effortlessly, which annoys Mikan.

_Do I really look like I'm fresh out from high school?_ She disdainfully questions herself.

"I'm not. I already finished my fourth year of university."

Mikan grins as she sees the girl's stunned reaction. "I went to visit my family in Hokkaido for the break. I'm finally returning home after my medical internship in America."

"I'm sorry." Surprisingly, even though the words did sound brusque, Mikan can detect the sincerity in them. Mikan knows sincerity when she sees it and she knows that she should feel sheepish for forgiving too easily; however, it's in her nature to forgive and forget.

"How about you? Why are you going to Tokyo?"

"Money." The girl answers swiftly with such effortless that Mikan is speechless.

She's heard stories of gold-diggers who travel to Tokyo in hopes of finding a rich patron, but this is the first time she's actually met one. Is it actually safe for her to befriend this girl? What happens if the girl uses her for her own benefit? Mikan is ashamed to say that it wouldn't be the first time.

The girl's sudden laughter brings her back to reality, and Mikan is thunderstruck at the girl's radiant beauty when she laughs. It is a dignified, amused chuckle; not pompous like Sumire's or shy like Ruka's. Sadly, Mikan had almost classified her as Natsume's type – sullen and incapable of laughter.

"I'm not a gold-digger," the girl says and this causes Mikan to flush.

Of course the girl can't be a gold digger. The more Mikan looks at her, the more she reprimands herself for thinking such thoughts. The girl doesn't look like she's a gold digger; in fact, the book she is reading is definitely a University-level textbook, filled with equations and angles that Mikan is glad to have ditched after high school.

"Are you studying at Todai?" Mikan questions her as she eyes the inches-thick textbook.

The girl stares down at the book and answers her, "I'm in the School of Engineering."

Mikan knows the girl had to be smart, because Engineering isn't an easy subject. She knows that for a fact.

"So you're going to Medicine School?"

She finds herself nodding as the train halts to a slow stop. The intercom goes off as the monotone operator's voice echoes through the train, _"This stop is Tokyo Prefecture. This is Tokyo Prefecture. Please remember collect all your belongings before leaving the train."_

"Well," The girl says as she stands up, picking up the duffel bag at the bottom of her seat and makes her way out of the train, but not before stopping back to smile that pretty smile of hers. "It was nice to meet you, Mikan Sakura."

Mikan stares at her disappearing back, completely entrapped by the girl's enigma. She knows for a fact that if she wasn't a female, she probably would've fallen for the girl.

TBC.

A/N: This will be a short story, loosely based on NANA. I found it in my writing file and decided to post it up. Enjoy!


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